Capital Region News

Schumer seeks review of electric bill increases

by 810 & 103.1 WGY/Associated Press

Sen. Chuck Schumer says he'd like to see the Federal Trade Commission investigate utilities like National Grid for possible price gouging.

Schumer says it's typical for electric bills to go up during the winter, but he says this year's sky-high increases are more than what might be expected. So far, no one has been accused of any manipulation.

National Grid has said the wholesale price of electricity increased far more than expected because of high demand and that was the reason so many customers saw a 20-25% increase in their bills in March.

National Grid is only allowed to make money on the "delivery" portion of the bill, which is set by state regulators.

A spokesman for National Grid says if Schumer wants to look at everything, that's fine.